Reflections on #SHRM14 - Transforming HR and Others around You

Robin Roberts, well-known television host and cancer
survivor, set the stage for the focus of the entire 2014 SHRM (Society for
Human Resource Management) annual conference in her opening keynote about “transformation.”
Robin shared her life’s ups and downs and motivated others to learn from all
experiences, good and bad.

She encouraged the over 13,000 SHRM14 attendees to
understand the purpose of life’s ups and down and to stay optimistic when
confronting challenges. To transform your life; to “make your mess your
message.”

I never really thought about embracing the “mess” of life
and owning it. Her perspective struck a chord, particularly where she shared
that the tragedy of life is not tragedies in and of themselves; but rather, the
tragedy is when we don’t look at our life experiences as an opportunity to
transform or learn. Robin Schooling sums
up Robert’s keynote nicely – check out her June 22nd blog post
on HR Schoolhouse.

The shifting focus of
HR

As my colleague and I attended sessions over the next few
days we noticed a common trend. The sessions were all well aligned to the
overarching theme of transformation and identified the
shifting focus of HR.

I even transformed myself to become a morning person,
attending my first concurrent session at 7am on a Monday! It was well worth it.
Michelle Ray’s very energetic session on “No More Drama: How to Build High
Engagement, High Morale and a Happier Workplace” was all about inspiring HR
professionals to raise themselves above the drama and “be the best you can be.”

Michelle got a lot of nods from the crowd with one of her
key messages knowing the difference between people who “have” problems and people
who “are” problems; to keep in mind that not every individual can be
transformed, they have to want it.

Engage and create a
high performing workforce

I spent most of my time attending sessions in the Business
Management and Strategy track. These sessions really stressed the importance HR
plays in driving organizational strategy and culture. Sessions were beyond tactical HR, focusing more on the
transformation to strategic HR.
Yes, there’s that word transformation again.

Sessions focused on developing leadership skills that
empower and develop the skills of your people so you can help them reach their full
potential. The conference wasn’t just about compensation structures, job
descriptions, compliance and competency models. Instead there was a deliberate
focus on how to build employee engagement, develop a strong corporate culture, identify
and develop key talent, and reward and recognize performance.

Perfect example: in his day two keynote, CEO of Yum! Brands,
David Novak, shared the secrets of “unleashing the power of people” to grow a
successful company. I was moved by his positive energy and inspired by his
message and funny stories about recognizing the strengths of others. As he puts
it “the more I give, the more I receive.”

His message was about putting people first:

“When you think about what you need to get done in your
company, you know you can’t get it done by yourself. There is no way you can
get something done without taking people with you.”

When you think about what you need to get done in your company, you know you can’t get it done by yourself #SHRM14

With transformation
comes change

SHRM14 sessions did not neglect to point out that with
transformation comes change. The key is to understand the impact – both
immediate and long term — and to help your organization prepare. HR’s role is
one of influencer; HR is the agent of change for an
organization, setting the action plan and communicating the impact and value of
change to the organization.

I certainly plan to apply what I learned at #SHRM14 to
Halogen’s business consulting services portfolio. Now if I could only come up
with a strategy be an energized and motivated morning person!

Change Management Template

Change Management Template

By Shawna McKnight, Guest Contributor

Shawna has been with Saba for more than 11 years in a variety of roles across the organization but always with the same mandate – to help customers win with talent!

Currently, as a Customer Success Executive, Shawna is committed to helping customers thrive and ensuring they get maximum value from their relationship with Saba. Her goal is to give her customers solutions to the ever-changing priorities of the business and provide continuous learning opportunities by connecting them with experts and within our vibrant customer community.

Shawna has a passion for helping organizations realize the true potential of their talent with a drive to deliver results and a real knack for consultative and creative problem-solving. To help her customers, Shawna leans on her years of experience at Saba as Program Manager and Senior Consultant for Business Consulting, Solutions Consultant, Implementation Consultant and Trainer.

Shawna has a Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.) from Acadia University. She is certified by DDI and Korn Ferry (powered by Lominger) for Competency Modeling, is an MBTI Certified Practitioner and a Human Capital Strategist with the Human Capital Institute (HCI).